Bank Robber Charged in Federal Court

U.S. Attorney’s Office
December 18, 2009

Western District of Tennessee(901) 544-4231

MEMPHIS, TN—Lawrence J. Laurenzi, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee and My Harrison, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that Phillip Thompson, age 24, of Memphis, Tennessee, was charged in a Federal Complaint with one count of Bank Robbery and one count of Using and Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence in connection with the December 17, 2009 robbery of the Cadence Bank, located at 591 South Mendenhall in Memphis. Thompson is being held in federal custody pending a Probable Cause and Detention Hearing scheduled for Tuesday, December 22, 2009.

The Complaint states that Thompson entered the bank, pulled a black handgun, and demanded money from the teller, and then Thompson quickly fled with the funds. The Complaint alleges that Thompson attempted to elude officers and fired approximately 15 shots, with an assault rifle, at an MPD officer. Thompson’s vehicle eventually crashed into a building and officers with the Safe Streets Task Force located Thompson and arrested him. Officers executed a search warrant on the car Thompson was driving and recovered an “assault rifle,” a black handgun, and the cash taken during the robbery.

As charged in the Complaint, Thompson faces up to life in prison.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force and the Memphis Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Lorraine Craig is handling the case for the Government.

Note: Charges brought against a person through an Indictment or Complaint are accusations only. That person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.